Yesterday the infotainment screen in my 2015 Golf Sportwagen went black. The "brains" in the glove box still work, for example I can play a CD. The touchscreen responds to touches, but since the screen is all black I have to guess where the buttons would be. I have owned the car for less than 4 months. The infotainment screen worked a few days ago although the display would often flicker with ghost images. The 36 month bumper to bumper warranty just ended a few days ago, so I missed my chance for a free repair.

I tried holding down the power button for 15 seconds many times. I hear a little crackle after 13 seconds but nothing else happens. My guess is the backlight to the touchscreen has failed. I had electrical and radio gremlins with past VWs. I made an appointment with a local VW dealer for next Tuesday. I gave the service guy my VIN and he told me the warranty just expired but he said we could work something out which might mean a discount on the service.

I started to take the trim pieces off around the touchscreen after watching a YouTube video, but the clips are on pretty tight and I don't want to break the trim plastic. Should I try to put an aftermarket touchscreen radio in or fix the factory infotainment? Are other Mk7 golf owners having issues with their touchscreens?

The only issue that I've had with our display screen is some flickering when the back-up camera is on. Couldn't make it happen the last time the car was in for service, but the dealer is aware. Luckily, ours is a CPO with the 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.

__________________
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I disconnected the battery for a hour but the screen is still blank. I think it's the backlight because the touchscreen still responds. I could buy a used 5G0919605 from eBay for $100 but I would still have to get the dealer to unlock it and maybe they would refuse to. There is some kind of anti-theft called CP so I can't just swap another display unit without unlocking it.

I just got it back from the Cutrubus dealer in Layton Utah. They fixed it for free as a good will repair. I asked the service advisor if these units are glitchy and she said somewhat, mine was the third one the dealer has replaced in the 2015 models. The service advisor Ashlei claimed they saved me almost $1000 by repairing it for free. The 5G0035878AX control unit which they installed is a $400 part while the 5G0035878AU which they removed is a $150 part. I think it's just a revision of the same part which is the CD player and "brains" in the glove box. The new unit should last 5+ years and by then we can expect better or cheaper aftermarket options.

Here are the service notes from the invoice:
Installed 5G0035878AX CTRL unit Qty 1
Core Chg 5G0035878AU CTRL unit Qty 1
Verified that radio has sound but screen does not work. Checked fault codes using GFF and found fault for B1297F6 multimedia display wire open circuit. Removed trim and display unit/radio and display is ok. Removed ECM for information control head and checked wires between ECM and display and all are ok. Replaced and coded ECM for information display control head and now display works properly. Cleared all faults and reinstalled center dash trim. Good will repair per service manager. $0

I believe the "X" suffix in VW p/ns normally indicates the part is a reconditioned, not new or a redesigned part. The core charge seems consistent with that.

When I google 5G0035878AX the results show a $400 part and when I google 5G0035878AU the results show a $150 part. I don't know how they program the ECM or the CP to accept the new part when they swap it.

If I'm right and the X part is an unimproved, reconditioned U part, no recoding may be necessary. And the $400 price would not reflect the core credit. The availability of the X part suggests the U is no longer available, regardless of whether its still listed.